A/N: Here's a oneshot. Enjoy! I don't own Harry Potter! WARNING: THERE IS MATURE CONTENT. BE PREPARED.
May 5, 1998
Fleur had had better days. Many of them, in fact. This was not one of them. She was glad for the veil that covered her face as they lowered Bill's casket into the ground next to his brother's outside the Burrow. Bill was not the only victim of the Battle of Hogwarts, but how her heart ached that she could not have joined him in death. Fire swam in her veins, and it roared that she had been unable to defend her husband.
Nymphadora Tonks was cradling her toddler, Teddy in her arms, her face streaked with tears. Her hair was mousy brown, her face pallid with bloodshot eyes.
Fleur was proud of her husband for defending Tonks, even if it had cost him his life. It was his nature and one of the things she had loved most about him.
On her other side were the other Weasley family members. Molly had lost two sons, but she had avenged Bill, killing Bellatrix in a grief-stricken rage.
Again the flames of torment lapped at Fleur. She trembled, her arms folded around herself, trying to hold herself together even as more tears slipped free.
He was gone, and there was nothing she could do to bring him back.
She stayed until they had completely filled his grave. When everyone else had left, she stepped forward and fell to her knees. Now alone, she let her sobs break free. Pain stabbed furiously at her like frozen knives. She wrapped her arms tighter around herself as she glared at the headstone that mocked her, with its small portrait that looked back at her with a fixed, lifeless smile.
Someone tenderly held her and she heard her father's voice. "Ma fille! Oh, comme mon cœur souffre pour toi mon précieux!"
Fleur's sobs intensified as she turned and clung to his jacket, coated in the comforting smells of pine, tweed, and pipes. Her father held her and rocked her gently as he had when she had sought his comfort as a little girl.
"J'avais tant espéré pour vous deux, ma Fleur." Papa's voice cracked as tears pricked his own eyes. "J'avais prié. Je suis tellement désolé, mon petit."
As he gently rocked, Fleur's exhaustion grew, and sleep overtook her.
May, 2007
Fleur tucked the little tissues she might need into her little satchel. Harry and Tonks would be here soon to pick her up. When they knocked on the door, she scurried across her London flat to open it for them.
She owned the deed to Shell Cottage, but she could not bring herself to live there. She had stripped the place of its magical enchantments and, with Hermione's help, rented it out to a small Muggle family while she lived in London.
Her work at the Gringotts branch here in London usually kept her occupied, but today was her day.
When Fleur opened the door, she was not surprised to see that Harry and Tonks, both fully decked out in their Auror uniforms, looked quite tired. Tonks had also lost her husband all those years ago, and as was second nature to Harry, he bore all the grief of the piled on losses that came from the battle that seemed to both have been just yesterday but also decades prior.
"Harry, Tonks, I am ready to go. It is good to see the both of you," Fleur greeted. And it was. In the years after the war, they had become her closest, most intimate friends. However, she was not blind to some of the tension between the three of them.
"You too, Fleur," Harry responded, laying a soft kiss on her cheek as he gave her a welcoming hug. Tonks mimicked him and followed suit.
Fleur tried to ignore the heat that bloomed in her cheeks.
She closed the door as she stepped out, and locked the door behind her.
"I have a portkey to take us to the Burrow," Harry said as he pulled out a hand mirror.
Fleur and Tonks grabbed hold, and Fleur resisted the urge to hurl as she felt the familiar feeling of being pulled through a tube to their destination. She, thankfully, landed on her feet when they appeared outside the Burrow. Charlie was already present, taking care of some of the gnomes. He waved them towards the front of the house, where his mother was sitting on a small rocking chair.
Fleur found one of her hands slipping into Harry's and her other arm was looped into Tonks's. Harry's grip was grounding as they walked up the path to see the Weasley matriarch.
The years since Bill and Fred had died had not been kind to Molly. She had lost much weight, and the age lines on her face had deepened considerably. While Harry had informed Fleur of her mother-in-law's deteriorating health, she had not realized just how poor it had become.
Molly raised her arm to wave at them as they approached. "Welcome, dears. Ron and Ginny are inside. Hermione's making tea."
Harry said, "Thank you for having us, Molly."
"Pish, posh." Molly waved him off and looked at the three of them. "You're family, all of you. And you'll always have a home here at the Burrow."
"Thank you, Molly," Fleur responded kindly. She leaned down to place a peck on Molly's cheek and give her a hug.
She was surprised when Molly gave her a hug that betrayed how frail she had become.
"It is good to see you, Fleur. You should come by more often," Molly said.
"I will," Fleur promised, guilt flooding her. She had avoided coming to the Burrow as often as she could for many reasons, including the poor memories of how Molly and Ginny had treated her before she had married Bill. But times were different now, and looking at Molly, Fleur was not completely sure how much longer the woman had left in her.
It was time to let bygones be bygones, as it were.
Fleur released Molly when the front door to the house opened. She looked up to see Ginny staring at Harry, some unspoken emotions warring in her eyes.
"Oh, Ginny, look, they all came. I told you they would," Molly exclaimed, either not noticing the sudden tension, or purposefully ignoring it. Fleur guessed that it was likely the latter option.
"I know, Mum. Hermione wanted me to tell you that supper's ready," Ginny said before turning around and heading back inside.
Fleur helped Molly stand, but she did not miss Tonks whispering to Harry, "She's still peeved about Teddy, isn't she?"
Of course she was, Fleur thought to herself. Harry had chosen to stay with the Tonks family after the war to help support and raise Teddy. The fact that Teddy suffered from much milder, less dangerous, but nonetheless similar, transformations to his father had only set Harry's mind further on the issue. All of this had grated on Ginevra's nerves, but it did not matter to Harry. In his mind, Teddy's upbringing and safety was more important to him.
Harry was the boy's godfather, and he took to the job like a moth to flame.
Fleur did not know too much about Harry's own godfather, the late Sirius Black, but she knew that he had played a large role in how Harry viewed his own relationship with the Tonks family, particularly Teddy.
They all ambled inside, walking behind Molly, who was now reliant on a cane. This, more than anything else, helped to cement just how frail she had gotten. Arthur Weasley was inside the kitchen, but he came out to help his wife into one of the chairs in the sitting room before starting a small fire in the fireplace. He too looked much older than his years, but he seemed to have much more strength about him than Molly did.
Fleur was not sure if this was just his own inner strength, which he had always exhibited, or if it was a mask to help take care of his ailing wife. It did not truly matter. The circles beneath his eyes and the age lines on his weathered face were more than enough to betray his grief.
He pulled Fleur into a tight hug once he had seen to the comfort of his wife.
"Fleur, it is good to see you, my girl," he welcomed. "I have missed seeing you. You're like a daughter to me, you know."
"I am sorry, Monsieur Weasley," Fleur said earnestly. "I should have come by more often."
"Yes, you should have," Arthur agreed. "But no more of this Monsieur nonsense—Arthur, please." He squeezed her tighter before laying a kiss on the top of her head. "You are my daughter, just as much as Harry is my son, and I am glad to see you. You look dazzling, as always."
Fleur managed a small, wet laugh. "If only I felt as dazzling, Mon—Arthur."
"That's just 'cause you're blinder than a bat sometimes," Tonks said with a wink. "Just as oblivious as Mr. Savior over here," she added with a pointed thumb at Harry, who only looked jokingly offended. Though Fleur imagined he had to be used to it now, after living with Tonks for as long as he had.
"It's a trait that seems to be rampant in former Triwizard competitors. Victor had a similar issue, believe it or not," said Hermione as she entered the room with a small tray. "I have tea." She placed it down on a small table. "It's good to see all of you."
Her words were pointed towards Harry, and nobody missed his wince
"Missed you, too, Hermione."
"Good," she said archly before returning to the kitchen.
Fleur turned to Harry. "Seeming to get yourself in trouble with all the women in the family, non?"
Harry shrugged sheepishly. "She's not wrong. I should have stopped by more often."
"Well, you're all still young," Arthur said knowingly. "Plenty of time to patch up old wounds. Just need to start now. We all love the three of you, and we want to spend more time with you than just sad occasions."
Thankfully, George and Angelina, and Percy and his fiancée, Audrey, arrived soon afterwards and the subject was dropped.
The trio sat down on a small transfigured sofa and Fleur leaned her head on Harry's shoulder. Tonks, being Tonks, splayed herself across their laps. She had a grin on her face as she looked up at Harry and Fleur who were looking at her amusedly.
Fleur idly ran her hand across one of Tonks's arms.
Harry took a glance around the room, where the others were talking loudly over each other and Fleur watched him flick his wand. The air around them got quiet, though Fleur could see that they were still speaking.
Harry looked over at Fleur, "Tonks and I are resigning from the Corps."
Fleur struggled to keep in a gasp, "Why?"
Harry shrugged and looked over the room, "It was time for a change."
"I am going to teach dueling at the Academy," supplied Tonks.
Fleur could not help the sigh of relief that went through her, knowing that neither of them would be risking their lives anymore.
"Let's plan to go to France this summer," offered Fleur, "We can bring Teddy and Meda and stay with my parents."
"That sounds like fun," Tonks said.
Harry shared a look with Tonks and then nodded, "Let's do it."
A while later, they gathered together at the table for supper.
"So, Harry," Arthur said, calling Fleur's attention from her plate. "There was quite a ruckus going on at the Auror department today. Anything we should be worried about?"
Harry stopped his eating and put his fork down.
"Actually, not so much worried," he responded. "But there are things I guess I should tell you all."
He looked at Tonks, and Fleur would have to be blind to miss the obvious affection that Harry felt for his partner, and after a nod from her, he glanced at Fleur before he looked back at the table.
"Earlier today, we apprehended Thaddeus Nott and Rabastan Lestrange. They were the last members of Voldemort's inner circle at large."
A huge breath of relief left the table. It was good to know that those two monsters would be back in Azkaban.
"I was also offered the position of Head Auror today," Harry announced.
Cheers and well-wishes of congratulations sprung from around the table. But Fleur, Percy, and Tonks stayed silent when they saw that Harry was not quite finished.
"I turned it down," he said, and it was almost surprising how quickly the table quieted down.
"You turned it down?" said Ron, asking the question that most of the table had on their minds.
Harry nodded. "I don't want to be an Auror for the rest of my life, and with Lestrange and Nott locked up, there's no reason for me to be."
"What are you going to do, then?" asked Hermione. "You really could have done so much there, Harry."
Harry shrugged. "I'm not one for the politics of it. Besides, Professor Mcgonagall offered me a job."
"A professorship?" asked Fleur, now intrigued. She had heard the tales of Harry's work as a tutor of DADA at Hogwarts when that vile toad from the Ministry had been "teaching" the class.
Harry nodded. "Professor Nyilin wants to return to his home country. Professor Mcgonagall has asked me to take over the DADA position and Head of Gryffindor in September."
Hermione contemplated this. "Did you accept?"
"Turned in my resignation before I left work today," Harry confirmed.
"A professor at Hogwarts," Arthur said to himself. "Now that's a cushy job. Congrats, Harry."
With that, the dam broke and congratulations poured in from around the table.
"You will do a great job, Harry," Fleur declared from across the table, and was pleased by the smile she got in return.
She was very happy with this development. While she was proud of the work that Harry and Tonks did, she was also terrified of what might happen to them in the field. The idea that Harry would no longer be out there was a great relief to her.
Eventually, the excitement died down and Fleur stood.
"The dinner was amazing, Hermione." She turned to where Arthur and Molly were seated. "Thank you for hosting us, but it is getting late and I would like to head home."
Tonks and Harry shared a look before Tonks stood. "We should be getting home now, too. I want to check up on Teddy."
Both Arthur and Molly looked dismayed, but Fleur reassured them with promises to come by more often for meals. She walked out of the house with Harry and Tonks in tow, and immediately went to her dead husband's grave.
Tonks and Harry stayed back a respectable distance as she lowered herself to her knees in front of his gravestone.
"Oh Bill," Fleur whispered, hot tears coming down her face. "I miss you so much. I don't know what to do with myself anymore. Maman says I should move on. I want to move on, but I don't know how."
It was like she had lost him all over again. The pain was fresh once more.
She was surprised when she heard Tonks and Harry come on either side of her and slip to their own knees.
Tonks wrapped her up in her arms. "One step at a time, Fleur. That's how we do it. And with people who love and support you every step of the way, like Harry and I. You're so much stronger than you think."
"She's right, you know," Harry added. His hand sat on her shoulder, a warm presence.
"Of course I am, you dolt."
Fleur gave a soft laugh, even as her tears mingled with snot.
She gave an appreciative smile when Harry conjured a small handkerchief for her to use.
"Merci, Harry," she said, accepting the cloth and cleaning off her face.
"Much prettier, Princess," Tonks said. "I mean, you're pretty all the time, but you look much better without all the snot on your face."
"Tonks," Harry whispered harshly.
"What?" Tonks asked, affronted. "I'm telling the truth, she looks hot when she's not crying."
Fleur laughed and got to her feet, Tonks and Harry joining her. She brushed her lips against both of their cheeks.
"Feeling better?" Harry asked quietly.
"Oui," Fleur reassured them. "Thank you, both of you, for bringing me here today. I don't think I could have done it without you."
They walked towards the property line, Tonks still wrapping an arm around her. Harry took one of Fleur's hands.
"Ready?" he asked, holding out the hand mirror
The three joined together, moving by magic to their next destination.
"We're glad we could help such a beautiful damsel, Princess," Tonks said when they reappeared in front of her flat. While she loved Andromeda like another mother, she was glad they had not reappeared at Grimmauld Place, where the Tonks family had moved in after the war.
"Oh, you think I am beautiful, Tonks?" Fleur asked, some of her old spirit back in her. "What are you going to do about your wayward partner, Harry?"
"Oh, I don't think she's wrong," Harry answered with that little grin of his.
Fleur shook her head fondly.
"Can we come inside?" Tonks asked, her voice thick.
Fleur was not as oblivious as some seemed to think. "It is a little soon for this, non?"
"The way we see it," Harry answered for Tonks, "we've been dancing around this for years."
"N-not that I'm opposed to this, but what's changed now?" Fleur asked, her own voice thickening as Tonks hugged her from behind, her breath chillingly close to her neck. She wanted them as badly as they apparently wanted her, but she needed them to be sure.
"Nothing and everything," Tonks breathed, right in her ear.
Tonks nodded against Fleur's shoulder, letting her hands slide up and down Fleur's sides.
"We wanted to move past our jobs," Harry clarified. "We didn't want you to have to worry about our health anymore."
"Believe it or not," Tonks said with a snicker in her voice, "we aren't oblivious either."
"Non. None of us seem to be," Fleur whispered. She was feeling very warm now. "Let's go inside."
Inside they went.
Fleur woke up in a tangle of limbs, with her head resting on one of Tonks ample breasts, her hand grabbing the other. Harry was behind her, as best as she could tell, one arm draped over her waist and a hand clutching one of her breasts. One of her legs was pressed between Tonks's legs, and her other leg was trapped by Harry's own.
The memories from the night before, specifically what happened once they entered the apartment, breezed through her mind. Her cheeks flushed.
Harry was already awake, pressing small kisses against her shoulder blade that woke up a familiar sensation in her.
"Oh, fuck," Tonks moaned as she opened her eyes, leading to a chuckle from both Fleur and Harry. "That was fucking amazing. We need to do that again."
Fleur looked up into Tonks's eyes, pressing a kiss to the older woman's lips. "Oh, oui?"
She bent down and used her mouth to suck on Tonk's free nipple while pinching the other. "Like that?"
Harry groaned, even as he pushed his growing erection against Fleur's rear. "Oh, gods."
Fleur released Tonks's nipple from her mouth and turned back to him. "I think you meant, 'Oh goddesses.'"
Harry gently cupped her cheek and kissed her deeply. "Of course."
A while later, they were dressed and eating around Fleur's kitchenette table.
"Last night and this morning was wonderful, Fleur," Harry said.
"Seriously," Tonks murmured into her cup of coffee.
"But we do want this," Harry gestured to the three of them, "to actually be an item. We really like you, and we think it could be more."
Fleur looked into her own cup and thought on one of Tonks's comments at the Burrow the night before.
"I want to move on," she confessed. She let a small grin curl her lips. "And you guys have been with me every step of the way. I want you with me the rest of the way, too." She took a sip from her drink. "Besides, the sex with the two of you is way too good to pass up."
Fleur had timed it perfectly. She chortled as they both choked on their coffee.
A/N: Thanks for reading! About as graphic as I felt going, but it was a nice finish overall. This is just the beginning of their journey, but you'll have to imagine the rest, as this is all you'll be getting from me. Links in my bio.
Translations:
Ma fille! Oh, comme mon cœur souffre pour toi mon précieux! = My daughter! Oh, how my heart aches for you my precious one!
J'avais tant espéré pour vous deux, ma Fleur. J'avais prié. Je suis tellement désolé, mon petit. = I had hoped so much for the two of you, my Fleur. I had prayed. I am so sorry, my little one.